Thomasville to hire 100 in North Carolina
Plant is company’s only U.S. case goods factory
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, July 23, 2008
LENOIR, N.C. — Thomasville Furniture Inds. says it will add about 100 jobs to its case goods plant here, bringing employment at the 1 million-square-foot factory to 800 by the end of the year.
It’s the second time in recent months that Thomasville has added workers to the facility, the company’s only remaining U.S. wood furniture plant. Last fall it added about 50 workers.
Thomasville Furniture President Ed Teplitz said the company will use the plant to manufacture existing product and a new collection coming out this fall.
“With all the changes in cost structure coming out of Asia and all the petroleum related costs, we think there is a real opportunity to leverage the factory,” Teplitz said.
The announcement is a slight reversal of fortune for this area. Alan Wood, manager of the local Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, estimated that the county has lost about 3,500 furniture manufacturing jobs since 2001. Factoring in related layoffs at furniture suppliers, and finishing and frame shops, the job loss is closer to 6,000, he said.
Most of those jobs have been lost to low-cost competitors in China and other parts of Asia. But given the materials and labor costs overseas, combined with rising shipping costs and the devaluation of the dollar, he expected some jobs might come back.
“It makes our goods more attractive,” Wood said. But he added that while the competitive gap has narrowed, it hasn’t been enough to open the floodgates for new jobs.
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Thomasville adding 100 jobs at wood plant
Aug 3, 2008
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